LS3 V8 To Grace 2016 Model Year Holden Commodore SS
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Holden’s current VF Commodore SS is only offered with the 360 horsepower 6.0-liter V8, which is outclassed by the all-new Ford XR8’s 450 horsepower supercharged 5.0-litre V8. With the Commodore’s demise imminent beyond the 2016 model year, Holden must act quick to make sure its beloved rear-wheel drive sedan goes out with a bang.
According to Australia’s Motoring.au, General Motors plans to ship its 6.2-liter LS3 V8 down under for use in the 2016 model year Commodore SS. Variations of the 6.2-liter LS3 are already installed in Gen-F HSV Clubsport and Chevrolet SS models at Holden’s Elizabeth plant, so strapping the engine under the hood of the lesser Commodore models should be an easy task.
When the Commodore SS receives LS3 power, output would likely rise to around 425 horsepower, the same as the Chevrolet SS. However Motoring points out there are two more powerful versions of the naturally-aspirated LS3 in Oz. The SV LS3, available in the HSV R8 Commodore, has a high flow exhaust and other upgrades to produce 455 horsepower, while the previous-gen R8 LS3 available in current HSV ClubSport and Maloo models produces 435 horsepower.
Using the more powerful LS3 engines would put output of the 2016 Commodore SS closer to that of the supercharged XR8, however it would also force HSV to revamp their product lineup to offer more performance than standard V8 Holdens. For that reason, we see Holden opting for the standard Chevrolet-sourced LS3 in this scenario.
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HSV could go the LSA route and match the CTS-V with a supercharger. Considering you can bolt-on the CTS-V supercharger to a G8, I don’t think that would be very hard for HSV to do in order to accommodate the LS3 moving downmarket.
It would also be a good rebuke by HSV of what Opel Australia (erm, Holden’s new-new engineering team) is about to cram down Australia’s tailpipes.
HSV may be able to get a TTV6 to 500 horses, but you’ll never be able to do the same things with E2XX that you can pull off with Zeta or Alpha.
Posted anonymously so I don’t get fired.
HSV already have the LSA in the GTS, it would be great if this was the base engine and the LS9 could be King Kong in the GTS before its demise!
When will the 2015 SS be available in the US? I am waiting for mag ride control but no information is on the Chevrolet web page.
The Chevrolet SS has been updated with an available manual transmission, Magnetic Ride Control and some other changes for the 2015 MY. There’s more information here:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/04/2015-chevrolet-ss-reported-to-appease-enthusiasts-with-manual-transmission-magnetic-ride-control/
Expecting delivery in Jan/Feb is what dealers told me.